UPDATE: Last-minute fiscal cliff talks planned in Washington

Monday

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will meet with congressional leaders Friday at the White House for last-minute talks on a deal to avoid automatic tax increases and broad spending cuts.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will meet with congressional leaders Friday at the White House for last-minute talks on a deal to avoid automatic tax increases and broad spending cuts.

The meeting will take place just four days before the government goes over the so-called “fiscal cliff” if Congress and Obama don’t act.

The meeting would be the first time Obama has huddled with all four leaders since Nov. 16 and would represent that last hope for a deal before the new year. Obama spoke to each leader individually Wednesday before returning from vacation in Hawaii.

Obama and congressional Democrats want a deal that would let tax rates rise for the wealthiest taxpayers. Republicans have balked at raising taxes for upper-income households.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told The New York Times a deal seemed unlikely.

“I have to be very honest,” Reid said as the Senate convened in an unusual session between Christmas and New Year’s Day. “I don’t know time-wise how it can happen now.”

Adding to the woes confronting the middle class was a pending spike of $2-per-gallon or more in milk prices if lawmakers failed to pass farm legislation by year's end.

Florida’s representatives were difficult to reach Thursday.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., was unavailable for comments, but in an installment of Marco’s Constituent Mailbox, a weekly newsletter, Rubio responded to two constituents’ letters regarding the looming fiscal cliff.

“The fiscal cliff is completely created by Congress,” Rubio said. “It is not something that was hoisted upon us; it is something this political process hoisted upon the American people.”

Rubio directed the blame toward “Washington politicians for once again ignoring the real fiscal cliff, a $16 trillion national debt,” he said.

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., was also unavailable for comment Thursday. In an Op-ed published by The Hill newspaper, Nelson addressed concerns of the fiscal cliff and plans to avoid going over it.

“I believe we can and must avoid going over this cliff on Dec. 31, when unintended sequestration — across-the-board budget cuts totaling $1 trillion over 10 years — will begin in defense and other federal spending,” Nelson wrote. “I believe the solution should be guided by two overarching objectives: one, putting the federal government on a real path to rein in our deficit; and two, ensuring that any revenue increases and spending cuts promote growth and strengthen rather than hurt the middle class.”

Nelson called for tax cuts for all taxpayers with an adjusted gross income below $250,000 as the first step to avoid going over the fiscal cliff while later reforming the federal tax code.

Rep. Steve Southerland II, R-Fla., was in Alabama on Thursday and could not be reached for a comment, according to Matt McCullough, his communications director.

“The American people have sent a message to Washington that they expect their leaders to avert crippling tax increases while also getting serious about reining in wasteful spending,” Southerland wrote in a prepared statement. “Heeding the call, the House approved bipartisan legislation in August to avert the Fiscal Cliff.”

The Democratic-controlled Senate also passed legislation to avoid the fiscal cliff earlier this year. Officials in the House and Senate passed their legislation despite knowing their versions would not pass in the other chamber.

Southerland also blasted Democrats for not reaching an agreement.

“Unfortunately, however, the president and Senate Democrats appear more interested in scoring cheap political points and peddling scare tactics about the debt limit than in achieving a solution,” Southerland wrote. “With just a few precious days remaining before year’s end, I am hopeful that Sen. Reid will finally listen to the American people, put politics aside and extend critical tax relief for hardworking families.”

Reid said it was House Republicans, not Democrats, who were driving the country over the cliff.

Reid accused House Speaker John Boehner of running a dictatorship, citing his refusal to call a vote on legislation to keep taxes steady for most while letting them rise at upper incomes. The bill “would pass overwhelmingly,” Reid predicted, and said the Ohio Republican won’t change his mind because he fears it might cost him re-election as speaker when the new Congress convenes next week.

Boehner seems “to care more about keeping his speakership than keeping the nation on a firm financial footing,” Reid said in remarks on the Senate floor.

Still, top Senate leaders said they remain ready to seek a last-minute agreement.

An aide to Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said the Kentucky lawmaker “is eager to hear from the president.”

While there was no guarantee of a compromise, Republicans and Democrats said privately elements of any agreement would likely include an extension of middle class tax cuts with increased rates at upper incomes as well as cancellation of the scheduled spending cuts. An extension of expiring unemployment benefits, a reprieve for doctors who face a cut in Medicare payments and possibly a short-term measure to prevent dairy prices from soaring also could become part of a year-end bill, they said.

But, with a little more than four days from the deadline, there was no legislation pending in either the House or the Senate to prevent the tax hikes and spending cuts that economists say could send the economy into a recession.

A previous version of this story is below

GAINESVILLE — A new University of Florida survey shows a growing pessimism among the state's residents worried about the potential effects of Congress failing to deal with the fiscal clilff.

Confidence that personal finances will be sound at this time next year dropped two points in the monthly survey while confidence in the U.S. economy over the coming year fell six points in the survey of 400 Florida residents by UF researchers.

Overall, Florida's consumer confidence remained unchanged in December, albeit down slightly from a post-recession peak in September.

Improving home sales and rising home values, declining gas prices and a resilient stock market offered the good news in the report along with trends that state revenues may be higher than estimated for the first time in several years.

Check back later today for more fiscal cliff coverage, and see Friday's paper for full coverage

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